Abstract:
Quercetin is one of the most widely distributed flavonoids in plants which should have a broad range of significant health promoting properties. Its effect on bone microstructure of males has not been sufficiently investigated. Therefore, our study was aimed to determine the impact of quercetin on femoral bone microstructure in 5-month-old male rabbits. Nine rabbits were intramuscularly injected with following doses of quercetin: 10 μg/kg body weight (bw) (E1 group; n=3), 100 μg/kg bw (E2 group; n=3) and 1000 μg/kg bw (E3 group; n=3) for 90 days, 3 times per week. Three rabbits without quercetin administration served as a control group. An accelerated bone resorption at the endosteal surface and intensive periosteal bone apposition were observed in all rabbits administered quercetin. However, the most evident changes such as a thicker layer of primary vascular longitudinal bone tissue under periosteum and a lower density of secondary osteons were identified in males from the E3 group. Morphometrical evaluations of the compact bone showed significantly decreased sizes of primary osteons’ vascular canals and secondary osteons in rabbits exposed to the highest dose of quercetin. Sizes of secondary osteons were also lower in males from the E2 group. Our results demonstrate that quercetin has a positive dose-response on compact bone microstructure in male rabbits.